NFL Roster Cuts 2016: Projecting Seahawks cuts this week

Being non-polemic for an opening sentence or two, out of 90 Seahawks present in camp, there are 40 who are destined with near certainty for the final roster. They’ll be there for the season opener on September 11 and we can all pretty much agree on them already.

Richard Sherman, Steven Hauschka, Germain Ifedi, Doug Baldwin and many others aren’t going to lose their camp competitions so badly that they fail to make the final roster. “Always Compete” doesn’t mean “Ignore Track Record.” Ah, but for the other 50 Hawks in the current Hawkpile, competition gets very real this week. After Thursday’s game, the Seattle brass will trim the roster for the first time, freeing 15 guys to hunt for jobs elsewhere.

It’s not by any means the end of the pro road for players who are cut with the first knife. Not only could they still find a home on the Hawks’ practice squad, but check this cool little fact out:

With people constantly mentioning how the 2016 team depth reminds them of 2013, some of the Hawks who get cut are still gonna get paid. Just not by Paul Allen.

In no particular order except alphabetical, here’s a stab at who Seattle will part ways with next weekend. As always, this information is for entertainment purposes only. As always, it comes with an ironclad money-back guarantee.

• FB Kyle Coleman. One of the reasons to have brought Will Tukuafu back might be that Coleman’s not impressing.
• TE Clayton Echard. Graham and Vannett are dinged up, but the emergence of Brandon Williams makes Echard a little more expendable anyway.
• CB DeAndre Elliott. Possible practice squad candidate.
• OL George Fant. Still a project, looks to have a high ceiling but the coaching staff might not be too disappointed if he’s snapped up by someone else, since I doubt he figures into the ‘16 or ‘17 plans very heavily.
• WR Deshon Foxx. Crowded position, virtually zero chance of making the final cut.
• S Keenan Lambert. At least he got to practice along Kam a couple of times. And maybe the brothers can appear in the same game on Thursday? That’s something.
• WR Antwan Goodley. See Foxx. He’s present but he hasn’t looked special. It’s going to take something special to nab that final receiver spot. And the 5-10 Goodley doesn’t have exceptional speed or hands. Plus, sub-six-footers Doug Baldwin, Tyler Lockett and Paul Richardson all figure to be on the final 53, so there’s very little room for a shifty small guy.
• WR Montario Hunter. His ball security, or lack thereof, makes his selection probably the most obvious. Kenneth, me, both my boys, and every single one of you say he’s toast, so obviously I’ll get this one wrong. On second thought — congrats Montario, on making the cut!
• WR Doug McNeil. He’s still so raw, and has been switching positions often enough, that there’s a decent chance no other team has him very high on their radar. Could easily be E.Z. Nwachukwu here too, but that guy’s been in the league four years and somebody might have suddenly decided to covet him again.
• LB Quayshawn Nealy. Not getting noticed. Probably wouldn’t be missed.
• CB Trovon Reed. The position is too deep. Definite practice squad candidate if he’s 6-0 and able to play nickel corner down the road. Could use another season of... seasoning after switching positions his senior year in college.
• DT Tani Tupuo. Because a D-lineman has to go.
• DT/DE DeAngelo Tyson. Because another D-lineman has to go. I didn’t want to cut more than one offensive lineman in a year where as many OL should get as many looks as possible.
• WR Kasen Williams. Probably many of you will disagree here. Probably my family, full of Huskies, will disown me for a few minutes. That’s OK. Bring it on. Simply, I don’t sense that he’s a hot commodity, or that the team especially likes him, or that he can be counted on to stay healthy.

You Missed One

That’s 14 guys, 14 cuts. I didn’t forget how to count. I left one blank for a wild-card entry.

Because you can always count on one surprise from this front office, here is a list of seven names that would be somewhat shocking to hear announced as the 15th cut, based on their play so far this preseason, or their reputation, or their pedigree, or their perceived essentialness.

• Jahri Evans. Objection: “But he’s good! He’s proven!” Rejoinder: So was Antoine Winfield. Sometimes a veteran is just done. If this FO happens to already feel like they won’t get another good year out of Evans — and it would be his 12th year — then there’s no real point in saving him until the second round of cuts.
• Nolan Frese. Objection: “But he’s the only long snapper on the roster!” Rejoinder: That may be. Then it’s time to consider that maybe PCJS are comfy with turning the next two weeks into a long-snapper competition between Kevin Pierre-Louis and Bradley Sowell, or that maybe they have Clint Gresham on speed-dial. (Of course they’d have to jettison someone else to make room for Gresh, but they can burn that bridge when they get to it.)
• Jordan Hill. Objection: “But he was great in 2014 for us. And he’d get a job within seconds of being cut!” Rejoinder: Well maybe that’s part of it. Perhaps as a favor to Hill for the work he’s put in, if Schneider doesn’t see him on the 53 for whatever reason, they’ll release him early so he can have his choice of teams. Note: I don’t think this will happen, but fun theories are fun theories.
• Tanner McEvoy. Objection: “But he’s a 6-6 receiver who’s made huge plays!” Rejoinder: he’s still very much a work in progress. Not sure a couple of big catches against third-stringers will change a lot of GM’s minds after they passed on McEvoy for his whole life. Cutting him early might make it easier to sneak him onto the practice squad.
• Will Tukuafu. Objection: “But they just signed him on Saturday.” Rejoinder: See Evans. If Tuk flops on Thursday, or shows up and gets out-classed, they could cut bait in a giffy and go pluck another FB from the FB orchard somewhere in Central Washington.
• Terry Poole. Objection: “But he was competent in pass pro in game 2 and if there’s something we need it’s a lineman who can block humans!” Rejoinder: he spent all of 2015 on the practice squad and literally every team could’ve had him for a couple fistfuls of dollars. Yet they didn’t. Good chance he fails to draw interest again.
• Jake Heaps. Objection: “Gotta keep the third QB for Week 4. Plus, he and Boykin are still competing!” Rejoinder: Or that competition could be over. In which case the camp roster spot might be more valuably spent on another prospect.

The last seven guys are probably all making the cut. But it’s more fun if the story of training camp has a plot twist or two. If you absolutely had to include one of the last seven among this first round of cuts, who is it?